Chapter 38
thirty-eight
ISABELLE
I managed to bag nearly a hundred copies of the loathsome issue of the paper featuring my fake article. I dumped them at the campus recycling center and checked my phone. Maddox had promised to let me know when Cole’s release was processed.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw his message.
Maddox: On our way to pick him up now.
I told Derek—who I’d since learned had been watching over me on Cole’s orders—where we were going, and then I was running to my car. I drove toward The Clutch, taking the scenic route that avoided town, hoping to bypass the afternoon traffic.
I was only five minutes away when the whine of motorcycles filled the car. Behind me, ten motorcycles, maybe more, were gaining quickly. I watched them get closer. Was it Cole? Was this some kind of Hounds outing I didn’t know about?
But as they got closer, half remaining behind and the other half pulling in front to block me in, I could see their cuts.
Iron Vultures.
Dread hit me like a ton of bricks. Derek was still riding my flank, and I could see him fumbling in his pocket. Was he going for a weapon? His phone? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be denied that we were seriously outnumbered.
I pulled over. I had no choice. I sat in my car, calling Cole’s number, then the cops when he didn’t answer. But neither call went through. I had no idea how long getting out of jail even took. The Vultures had forced me off the road in an area that was a dead zone for cell service.
The guy I assumed was the leader got off his bike and strode over to my window, then knocked.
“Hey, Cole’s old lady.”
I kept the window up like it could protect me. They had Derek surrounded and had taken the gun from his hand.
The guy next to my window pulled his bandanna down from his mouth, and I recognized the oddly named Teddy. He smiled at me, a grin that had more than one missing tooth. He walked over to Derek. I couldn’t hear what was being said.
One minute, Teddy was leaning over him. The next, he had straightened, pointed the gun at Derek’s thigh, and pulled the trigger. I screamed, my heart beating so hard I could have passed out.
Teddy then turned to the car and made a motion of opening the door.
“Now, or he goes back to his kids in pieces.”
I swallowed my acidic fear, steadied my trembling hands, and opened the door.
They took me to the same shipyard where I’d hidden on top of the shipping container the night of the shoot-out. The night I’d told Cole who I really was, and why I’d been trying to get to know him.
All signs of the fight that had happened there were gone. It was dusty and deserted in the fading light. Iron Vultures lurked around the edges of the space where we were waiting.
I sat with my back against a hard metal container, in the dirt, and tried not to imagine the worst. An hour passed. Maybe two.
Finally, headlights appeared. Only two.
I recognized Cole on his motorcycle immediately.
I couldn’t place the other guy. They pulled to a stop, and silence fell.
Teddy jumped down from the container he’d been sitting on and strolled into the clearing, as someone else forced me to my feet.
I registered the cold, hard feel of a gun pressed against my cheek.
Being held at gunpoint twice at the same place seemed like very bad luck.
Cole started to stride forward, but the man with him pulled him back.
“All in good time, boy. First, we figure out this situation.”
The man faced us. “The girl is unharmed?”
Teddy nodded.
“See, just like I promised,” the man said, and then looked over his shoulder.
Two more bikes were approaching. It was Gage and Maddox, and they looked mad enough to spit fire. They jumped off their bikes and made for Cole, but he waved them back.
“You’re not here for me. You’re here for her,” he said. “Keep her safe.”
“Cole!” Gage protested.
“Enough!” the older man who I didn’t know barked.
Something was familiar about him in that moment.
He was the man who had been meeting secretly with Grant, I realized.
And his voice… he was the one on the recording.
Gage and Maddox had told me earlier that his name was Errol, and that he was like an uncle to Cole.
Everything started to piece together in my mind.
“As fun as it is to watch you fuckers play around, let’s get on with it!” Teddy shouted and gestured me forward. I went, the man beside me holding the gun to my cheek never wavering.
Errol nodded at Cole and inclined his head. “Get on your knees, son, and swear allegiance to the new Pres of the club. Swear you’ll obey my orders, do my bidding, and maybe you can walk away from all of this.”
“Your old lady certainly can. I’d like to have some fun with her—”
“Enough!” Errol shouted at Teddy. “Transferring power in the Hounds isn’t your business, Teddy. Pipe down. Once I’m Pres, then you’ll reap the rewards.”
Cole met my eyes. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him.
This was terrifying, scarring, and yet, the only thing I could think about was whether he was going to survive this or not.
I couldn’t fall in love for the first time—and I was convinced it would be the only time—just to see him executed in some dirty shipyard right in front of me. I just couldn’t.
“I’ll do what you want, as long as she’s safe,” Cole called out finally. “I want my men to take her away before I kneel.”
Teddy scoffed. “You’re not in the position to be making demands!”
But Errol nodded. “That’s acceptable. Thoughtful. Baileys know how to take care of their women, and I respect that. No need to traumatize the girl any more. I’ll even let you say goodbye.” He waved toward me. “Go on now, honey, come over here.”
The man beside me lowered the gun from my cheek. I looked at Teddy and he jerked his head toward Cole.
“Hurry up, then, you slow bitch.”
I turned back to Cole.
He held his hand out to me, his eyes steady. “Come on, Goldilocks. Come here, nice and slow.”
I started to walk. The space between the two groups felt like a no-man’s-land. I walked slow and steady toward Cole’s outstretched hand.
When I got closer, I reached out. The moment our fingers touched, I felt like I had been saved. He pulled me close, kissing me hard.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered as soon as he pulled away.
He let out a long sigh, as though just touching me was a relief to him.
“You’re going to go with the guys, and get as far away from here as you can, as fast as you can."
"But what about you?" I panicked.
"Don’t worry about me. I’m not as dumb as I look.” Then he flashed a bittersweet grin that made my knees weak. “I need you to trust me. Will you trust me?”
Slowly I nodded, despite a hundred objections roaring in my mind.
“Good girl, for once,” he murmured, and gave me a kiss on the forehead before urging me to go.
I walked away, feeling like I was being torn in two. Then Maddox and Gage were there, taking me with them, pulling me back. A helmet went on my head, and then I was being put on the back of Gage’s bike.
He rolled forward and I took a moment to look back at Cole. Errol and Teddy were now standing over him.
Gage took off, Maddox following. Cole watched us until we were at the entrance to the shipyard, then turned back to the men who wanted to steal his life.
The last thing I saw was him sinking to his knees on the dirt before them.